


He's Not The Same

by MOXerillaStixx



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Demons, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:55:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29182146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MOXerillaStixx/pseuds/MOXerillaStixx
Relationships: Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins | Tyler Black
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	He's Not The Same

Seth woke up in the morning to an empty bed which he was slowly getting accustomed to. It had been nearly eleven months since Roman left. He claimed he had changed and was afraid of hurting him.

When Seth tried to stop him, he pushed him into a wall, smashing a picture frame. Some glass had cut the brunette's hand and his fingers touched the scar whenever he thought about him.

Seth wasn't angry or scared, just worried about him.

Walking down the stairs, he carried the laundry basket filled with mainly just Roman's clothes, almost all he worn for the past eleven months were his boyfriend's things. They lost his comforting smell, but the worn, oversized fabric still brought a smile  
to his face whenever he put it on.

With a sigh, he began loading the whites into the washing machine, he briefly looked out the window and saw a man pacing in front of the house, nervous and fidgeting. At first he wanted to call the police, but then he recognized him.

It was Roman.

Before he could rush out the phone rang and he picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Seth." Roman's voice sounded pained on the other end, this stopped Seth in the hallway outside the bedroom.

"Roman, hold on I'm coming out to you."

"Don't!" He snapped. The brunette fell silent. "I'm sorry. Please, stay inside. You're safer in there!"

"Roman, what's going on?"

"I thought I could do this, I thought I was good enough for you now, but I'm not. I've come back to you broken. I'm sorry."

With a click, signifying Roman had ended the call, not only did his heart shatter further, but his feet carried him out the front door. Roman was nowhere in sight. Where he had been standing there was a bouquet of red carnations, Seth's favorite flower. His apology echoed around his mind as he picked them up and brought them inside.

He shook his head at the warning, whatever Roman thought he might do to him, he could handle himself.

The next day, now that Seth knew Roman was in town, he decided to search for him. And what better places to start than significant landmarks from their relationship.

The tree where they shared their first kiss was the closest, it was at a park down the street.

Nobody was there.

Next, he drove to the beach where Roman first told him that he loved him. That was one of the happiest days of his life.

Taking this trip down memory lane made his eyes fill with bittersweet tears. He walked into the small restaurant where it had their first date, he immediately looked at the  
booth where it took place.

Someone was sitting there and Seth knew it to be Roman. He walked over, opting to sit across from him, seeing as he was very antsy.

"Seth!" He hissed, going to stand up, but Seth grabbed his hand.

"Roman, sit. We need to talk about this."

He had a very conflicted look on his features before he sighed. He tried to speak, but his voice cracked at the first word and silent tears rolled down his cheeks. Seth squeezed his hand in support, rubbing his thumb along his knuckles like he would do whenever he broke down like this.

"I-I've barely slept. I don't know why, but it feels like my mind is working against my body, sending me on a path of self destruction and anger. I'm angry at myself but I take it out on everyone else. I want to stop but I can't and yet I feel like I can if I try hard enough and that I'm not trying hard enough but I think I am."

"Hey." Seth said soothingly. "You could've come to me about me this, I love you and I want to help you. Please let me help you."

"I can't if you'll get hurt."

"I can handle myself damn well and you know it! You had me worried sick you were gone for eleven months, why didn't you come back sooner?"

"I came back in a lapse of selfishness. I missed the way that you saw me. The way that you loved me, but I know now that I can't allow you to love me."

"I will love you with or without your permission for the rest of my life. Why can't you see that I can help you?" Now he was crying again.

Roman looked up at him, a small smile on his lips. "Okay. Can we go home? Please."

"Of course." He stood up, walking out the restaurant with his arm around Roman's waist and his around Seth's shoulder.

××××××

Roman had been back for a few months when Jon came to visit. Sure, he wasn't the same as before, but Seth felt as though he was getting somewhere with him and that he could handle a weekend with one of his best friends.

He told Jon that Roman was going through some stuff at the moment, and to not be too worried. After all, he was worrying about him enough, but he didn't tell Jon that.

So when he woke up the morning that he had to pick Jon up from the airport, he was only slightly startled to see Roman already awake, staring blankly at the wall.

"Hey." The brunette whispered, touching his arm. Roman jerked out of the trance, spooked at first, but relaxed when he looked at Seth, offering a smile.

"Hey."

"We're picking up Jon today, remember?"

"Right."

"I'm going to go make us some breakfast then we'll go. How does an omelette sound?"

"Good, thank you."

Seth walked downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing the ingredients and turning on the stove to let it heat up. The eggs cooked fast and soon he had plated them just as Roman came down the stairs. "Morning Seth." He wrapped his arms around him, his voice sounding much more grounded. "Sorry about earlier, for zoning out."

"You're okay." He gave him a peck on the lips then grabbed the plates. "Now let's eat."

They both made quick work of the food then hopped into the car. Seth drove, even though it was Roman's car, because his constant fidgeting and erratic startling didn't make for a good person behind the wheel. At the airport, he waited excitedly outside the gate, holding Roman's hand tight and getting on his tiptoes to try to spot Jon.

It wasn't hard to see the mop of blonde hair, especially when he ran towards Seth yelling out a hello. He first hugged Roman, and to the brunette's delight, Roman hugged Jon with his free arm. Jon then gave Seth a friendly hug, and Seth could feel Roman's hand tense up for a second.

When Jon had released him, Seth stood close to Roman to reassure him. "It's been forever since you've been in Florida!" The blonde began rambling as they walked out to the car.

"Yeah, we're glad to have you back, Jon!" Seth smiled, and his boyfriend nodded his head in agreement. They both took Jon down and around town before returning home after lunch. At the house, Roman wandered off almost immediately in a daze again. Seth helped his friend settle into the guest room, watching him set his suitcase down on the bed.

"How's he doing?" He asked quietly and the brunette sat down opposite of him on the bed, sighing, he thought for a moment. "He's doing alright. Some days it seems like he's getting better, like he's himself. Other days... Not so much. I just want him to know that I'm here for him."

"I'm sure he does." Jon assured him "He definitely doesn't seem all there most of the time, but whenever he looks at you Seth, he smiles."

"Thanks Jon, I needed to hear that." He leaned forward to give him a hug. "You're a great friend." The blonde hugged him back, moving side-to-side making Seth laugh as he became off balance and fell over on the bed, taking the brunette with him.

"Ah!" Seth laughed, pushing off of him to sit back up and take his arms back. His grin stopped in it's tracks when he saw Roman standing in the doorway. Immediately he knew something was up.

"Hey Ro." Jon greeted him, obviously  
not sensing what Seth could.

"What were you doing?" He asked, teeth clenched.

"Hugging, entirely platonically." Seth stood up in an attempt to brush off the tension, walking over to Roman, standing in front of him to block Jon from his sight. He held his face in his hands gently, forcing him to look into his eyes. "He's our friend here."

"Right." Roman shook his head, kissed Seth's cheek, then addressed Jon. "Sorry, I don't know what happened."

"It's all good!" His friend replied, giving a thumbs up. "Hey, can we go out somewhere fun tonight?"

"We haven't gone to Becky's in a while." Seth suggested. Becky was a young woman who owned a popular bar downtown that he and Roman used to frequent.

"Yeah... Sure." Roman agreed.

××××××

That night, they took a taxi into town just to be safe alcohol-wise. Sure, Roman wasn't going to drink, but he wasn't safe to drive, whether under the influence or not. Walking into the bar holding his hand, Seth immediately smiled at the fun atmosphere. He led the boys over to the bar, saying hello to Becky.

"Hey Seth! Roman!" She exclaimed, leaning over to talk to them "It's been forever since I've seen you guys here! And who's this?"

"This is our friend Jon, he's visiting from Vegas." The brunette introduced her to his blonde headed friend. "Jon, this is Becky."

They exchanged pleasantries then Seth ordered a vodka and Sprite for himself and just a Coke for Roman. Jon got himself a Jack and Coke.

Seth turned around in his seat to watch the rest of the patrons, some danced on the small dance floor by the stage, and the others sat in their booths. He quickly diverted his eyes when he made uncomfortable eye contact with a man he could tell had bad intentions.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Roman excused himself, kissing his boyfriend's temple. Nearly as soon as he was out of Seth's sight, the man Seth had made eye contact with walked over to him, taking Roman's seat beside him. "Name's Brock, and I see there's an empty seat here."

"There's also one on the other end of the bar." Seth turned away from him to talk to Jon.

"Aw don't be like that." Brock grabbed his shoulder, spinning him back around. Disgusted, Seth pushed his hand off of him without giving him another word.

This time, Brock's hand went to Seth's crotch, the brunette stood up so fast he would've been dizzy if he wasn't seething with rage.

"Leave him alone!" Jon said in Seth's defense, standing next to him, glaring at the guy.

The creepy man stood, towering over the both of them. "Oh, are you his  
boyfriend, shorty?"

"No." A stone cold voice said from behind him.

Roman was standing there, fists clenched and eyes narrowed into slits. "I am."

"Oh my god." Brock laughed. "I think you're shorter than shorty!"

Seth could see that Roman was about to do something at least the brunette would regret later, he grabbed Roman's arm to pull him towards the door. "Come on babe, let's go. Becky, can you put the drinks on my tab, I'll pick it up tomorrow."

She nodded in acknowledgement, and Seth grabbed Jon as well before actually walking out the door.

Unfortunately, he still had to wave down a cab, allowing Brock plenty of time to follow the three of them out, obviously still pissed.

Seth's grip on Roman's arm tightened, he didn't want this to escalate. He wanted to get in a cab and go home. But Brock clearly had other ideas, swinging right at Roman's face.

"Shit!" Seth yelled, the fist narrowly missed him as well. "What are you doing?"

Neither responded as Roman punched back at the guy, actually hitting him square in the face. Brock fell to the ground, clutching his jaw. Apparently he didn't expect Roman to hit back. "Aw fuck." He dabbed at his split lip, seeing blood. The man on the sidewalk held his other hand out to Roman for a handshake of sorts. "I'm sorry bro, I'm out."

Seth's sighed of relief was cut short when his boyfriend bent Brock's hand back to the point where he heard distinct cracks. Then his feet was hitting him in the sides, face, head, back, anywhere Roman could get to.

"Rome, stop!" Jon tried to intervene, but to the brunette's horror, was pushed back into a stone wall by his friend.

He had been petrified before, but now he leapt in front of Roman, in between him and Brock and Jon. Roman didn't hit him, but seemed annoyed at his interference. "Seth move." He clenched his teeth. "I don't want to hurt you too."

"You've made your point, you can stop now." Seth was calm as he spoke, gently placing a hand on Roman's tensed arm.

"No I can't." His voice wavered, and Seth detected fear and regret underneath the murderous overtones.

"He won't let me."

"Who won't let you?"

Roman blinked and his kind light grey eyes filled with a deep black.

 **"Me... The dark side I have... In the eleven months Roman was gone, he was trying to keep me away from** _**you** ** _._ Called me obsessive, dangerous, but it's only because I love you, Seth. I'm doing this for you."**_

The brunette's words seemed caught in his throat, but he had to force them out, still speaking calmly. "Look, whoever you are, that's not love. Love is a warm, kind feeling inside you that rips you apart in the best way possible. Love is sacrificing yourself for the other person, not sacrificing someone else. Please, don't do this. Look, you hurt Roman's friend, Jon."

Jon weakly waved from the ground, and Seth was sure he was in as much disbelief as him.

The dark side of Roman's face started twitching in between his crazed look and the soft, familiar gaze of Roman as his eyes flickered between the black glaze and Roman's light grey irises. Seth moved his hand from his arm to the sides of his neck. "What are you doing?" His last word was muffled as Seth pressed his lips against Roman's.

He was in a quiet shock and the brunette pulled his lips off his to give him a tight, powerful hug before kissing him again.

When he had finished the kiss, Roman's eyes were still closed in wonder, Seth looked up at him with hope. "Rome?" He whispered, reaching a hand out towards his.

Roman's eyes opened wide and Seth saw the beautiful eyes of his loving boyfriend. "Seth." He grabbed his hand in disbelief. "He-he's gone."

"Are you sure?" Seth checked, still optimistic.

"Yeah, he's always been back there, but I can't feel him now. I guess he took your advice."

"My advice? Oh." He bit his lip, remembering what he told the dark side of Roman before he kissed him.

He had sacrificed himself, instead of someone else.

Roman walked over to Jon and helped him up, then offered a hand out to Brock. The man warily took it, still obviously wounded. "Dude, I'm not sure what just happened, but stay the hell away from me." He ran off down the street, and Seth couldn't help but  
laugh.

"What's so funny?" Roman gave a small smile.

"Nothing." Seth wrapped his arms around his waist. "Let's just get a cab home."


End file.
